by Sharon Shinn
He lifted his free hand to brush her cheek with the very tips of his fingers. She felt the blood leap to her skin, right where he had touched her, eager to be touched again. “I am hopeful that your impressive act of bravery did not permanently damage your body or your power. But here you are. Scheming to enrage me and making me chase you all over the city. I cannot think you suffered any lasting harm.”
She had to laugh. “Bank the fire,” she said, freeing her hand and pulling away from him. “I am still making up for all that energy so recklessly expended, and I am very, very hungry.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Zoe was back at the palace a nineday before she had an opportunity to speak to Josetta alone. In truth, she barely spoke to anyone alone for that period of time, for she was still being honored and feted to a degree that was almost tedious. She was included at the king’s table every night, except the one when she pretended to feel too ill to partake in the meal. She was invited to breakfasts with the queens, lunches with members of the Five Families, excursions with anyone who set foot outside the palace. Keeli begged her to attend a “small get-together” at Sarone’s house, where nearly two hundred guests were in attendance—and Zoe was obviously the one they had all come to see. Two days later, Kurtis repeated the invitation, almost down to the wording. Zoe did not mind spreading whatever cachet she had over her cousins on both sides, but the rest of it wore her down. She wanted to burrow inside her suite and refuse to come out, or run to the city and camp by the river where no one could find her.
Well, no doubt Darien Serlast could find her. If he had time to look. After their extraordinary conversation at his house, he had made no effort to seek her out. He was present at many of the events, of course, sometimes meeting her gaze and grinning a little; he knew this degree of polite socializing did not come easily to her. But he did not rescue her or try to smooth her way.
Zoe kept mulling over how to seek out Josetta without appearing too forward or too peculiar but, in fact, the princess herself solved that problem by showing up at Zoe’s door one morning. It was still early in Quinnelay, but the day, though cold, bid fair to be gorgeous; the air already appeared to sparkle behind a flirtatious sun.
As always, Josetta seemed to feel awkward, but determined to play the correct part. “My mother told me that the two of you discussed the proper way to memorialize my recent accident,” she said formally. “And I wondered if you might like to see the park where my father will build a fountain and my mother will plant trees.”
“I most certainly would,” Zoe said. “When would you like to go?”
“I am free now if you are.”
“Free” apparently did not mean “unaccompanied,” for a maid and two guards awaited the princess in the hall and fell behind her, once she and Zoe emerged. Although Josetta did not pause to speak to her retinue, Zoe was pleased to notice that she didn’t treat them as if they were invisible, either. She nodded at them all and said, “I have a car waiting downstairs.”
The elaymotive was big enough to seat eight or ten and roomy for the five of them. Unexpectedly, it did offer a little privacy, for the car featured two chambers separated by a thick glass wall. Zoe and the princess sat in what was obviously the more luxurious compartment.
“Have you recovered from your adventure?” Zoe asked. “Or do you still have nightmares about almost drowning?”
Josetta gave her a sharp look. “How did you know about the nightmares?”
Zoe smiled. “I have had an adventure or two myself. I find I relive them for a long time in my dreams.”
“They haven’t been so bad the past few nights,” Josetta said. “But I am certain of one thing. I’m never getting in a boat again!”
“Oh, now, that’s exactly the wrong thing to decide,” Zoe said. “You should arrange for outings in dozens of boats! On lakes and on rivers, in still water and wild. You should swim every day—do you know how to swim?”
Josetta shook her head. Her blue eyes were huge.
“You should learn. If you master the water, you will never fear it again. And the nightmares will almost certainly go away.”
“Even if I could swim,” Josetta said, “nobody could have survived a fall over the mountain. Could they? Even a coru woman like you?”
“Well, I would have jumped out and made for shore long before I pulled too close to the waterfall!” Zoe exclaimed. “I know the river is rough along that whole stretch, but there are places a strong swimmer can leave a boat and make it to safety.”
Josetta was silent for a moment. “Like they did,” she said, her voice subdued. “Jem and Nic.”
“Who?”
“Those were their names. They said those were their names,” Josetta amended. “The sailors on the boat with me.”
Zoe was impressed that Josetta knew that particular detail. She was willing to bet Corene, Seterre, and Alys had not bothered to inquire into the identities of their own hired rowers.
“You think they jumped out and abandoned you on purpose?” Zoe asked quietly.
Josetta nodded. “I didn’t. Not at first. But then I heard people whispering—talking—saying what must have happened, and I realized they were right. Alys said—”
When Josetta abruptly fell silent, Zoe prodded, “What did she say?”
“She said people had wanted me dead since the day I was born.”
It was in moments like this one that Zoe was most aware of her sweela heritage. Her rage was so sudden and hot that if the redheaded queen had been anywhere in her vicinity, Zoe would have slapped her until Alys was dizzy. “I hope you realized she didn’t mean they wanted you dead,” Zoe said, her voice as gentle as she could make it around the angry singing of her blood. “She meant that every princess—and every queen, and every king, too—is always somewhat at risk. There are always malcontents who think the world would be a better place if someone else was in charge. So they try to get rid of the people who are already in power.”
Josetta absorbed that new thought for a moment. “So then, someday people might try to hurt Corene? Or Natalie? Just because they’re princesses and not because—not because they don’t like them?”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Zoe said briskly. “It’s scary, I know. But that’s why you have guards.” She nodded at the men sitting on the other side of the glass. “And that’s why you need to learn useful skills so people find it harder to hurt you. If you can swim, you won’t drown if someone throws you in a river. If you can build a fire, you won’t die if someone abandons you in the wilderness. You might even enjoy learning such things.”
“I’ve always been a little afraid of the water,” Josetta said thoughtfully. “But if I could swim—I suppose I could practice in the lake by the castle. Oh, but people would see me and make fun of me. And the water’s always so cold, even in summer.”
Zoe grinned. “You need to learn inside a heated room, in private, where no one can watch you.”
“I don’t know any place like that!”
“I do.” She tapped her chest. “Coru, remember? My aunt Sarone has a pool in her house right here in the city. You can learn there.”
“Will she mind?”
“Will she mind doing a favor for a princess of the realm?” Zoe demanded in such an incredulous voice that Josetta laughed. “She’ll be thrilled!”
“And will she teach me to swim, do you think?”
“No,” Zoe said, “I will.”
The park where the new fountain was under construction was—as Zoe had requested—in a seedy part of town where such amenities were rare and would be desperately welcome. However, that didn’t mean she wanted Josetta to get out of the smoker car and stroll around the site, muddying her fine shoes and exposing herself to the dangerous-looking characters lurking nearby. So they instructed the driver to circle slowly three times, while Josetta described the design of the fountain and the planned layout of the orchard.
“And because the fruit won’t be ready this year, my mother and I
will deliver baskets of oranges and apples and pears every nineday during Quinnahunti and Quinnatorz,” Josetta added as they signaled the driver to be on his way.
“That’s generous,” Zoe said.
Josetta glowed. “Do you think so? It was my idea. My mother said I could do whatever I wanted.”
“I think you will bring great good to people who can use it most.”
There was no way of knowing if Sarone would welcome visitors at this particular hour, but they decided to go by the Lalindar town house just in case Sarone was home and bored. Admonishing Josetta not to be disappointed if they couldn’t go swimming this time, Zoe left the princess in the car with the guards and approached the door by herself. Servants hastily summoned her aunt, who stepped onto the porch and gazed with great curiosity toward the car.
“Really? You’ve brought Josetta here? But, Zoe, how delightful! Of course she can come in! I just had the water cleaned yesterday and I was thinking about taking a dip this afternoon, but it’s not nearly as much fun to be there by myself and Keeli’s gone for the afternoon. She’ll be so jealous when she learns who came by to visit.”
“Well, if Josetta really sets her heart on learning to swim, Keeli will have plenty of opportunities to get to know her,” Zoe said. “Excellent! I’ll bring her in.”
The water feature at the Lalindar house was magnificent, and Zoe was not surprised that Josetta stared at it in wonderment. It had been designed to resemble a lush, unspoiled mountain pool surrounded by scented shrubs and grasses speckled with wildflowers. The clear surface of the water revealed a stone floor painted to look like river rocks, and the pool itself was fed by an artificial stream that bubbled over a fall of mossy boulders. No matter what the outdoor weather was like, inside this room it was steamy and warm; a combination of condensation and plant growth obscured every inch of the glass panels that enclosed the space.
Josetta stood wide-eyed and openmouthed, taking it all in. “I’ve never seen a place like this,” she said at last.
Sarone laughed merrily. “No, it’s a little outrageous, isn’t it? My grandmother commissioned it before I was born. We’ve all added our own touches—do you see the little birds, way up high in the branches? I brought those in. Once they’re used to us being here, they’ll start chirping. I find it very soothing to swim to birdsong.”
“It must cost a fortune to keep the place warm in the winter,” Zoe said.
Sarone nodded vigorously. “Oh, it does! But I’ve found that heating it with Dochenza compressed gas is much cheaper than heating it with wood. It’s an indulgence, of course—but such a lovely one.”
Josetta glanced down at her clothes, which Zoe guessed probably cost more than a quintile of heating the pool. “What do I wear in the water?” she asked.
“When I am alone, I sometimes swim in the nude, but I would certainly not expect you to do so,” Sarone said. “I have plenty of swim clothes on hand—I keep them in all sizes to fit unexpected guests.”
Josetta glanced behind her, where her attendants waited on the other side of the glass door that separated the pool from the house. “Do you have clothes they can wear, too?”
“Your guards?” Sarone asked, a little startled. “I assure you, you are quite safe in my home—”
“Oh, I’m not afraid,” Josetta said swiftly. “I just thought they would enjoy it.” She glanced back at the water, rippling faintly from the constant flow of the stream. “It looks like there would be enough room.”
Sarone glanced at Zoe, her eyebrows lifted slightly. Zoe thought she could read her aunt’s expression. A princess who cares about her common subjects. That’s a rare creature. “Indeed,” Sarone said briskly, “there is water enough for all.”
It turned out to be the most enjoyable hour Zoe had spent since she had returned to Chialto. The maid and one of the guards declined the offer of changing into swimming attire, but they did roll up the hems of their trousers and sit on the banks of the pool, kicking their feet in the heated water. Sarone, Zoe, Josetta, and the other guard—Foley, who, as it happened, already knew how to swim—changed into outfits that modestly covered them from neck to midthigh while leaving their arms and legs free. All of these ensembles tied at the waist and seemed to repel water with some efficiency, but Zoe couldn’t say they were particularly flattering.
Josetta had been alarmed to learn there was no part of the pool shallow enough to stand in, but Zoe and Sarone eased her into the water, one on either side of her, and showed her how to kick and how to breathe.
“This pool is so small that you can’t get far enough away from me to drown,” Sarone told Josetta cheerfully. “If you feel yourself going under, don’t panic. Zoe or I will be at your side in seconds.”
“Or I will,” Foley said.
Zoe glanced at him. He was keeping a respectful distance away, treading water in the center of the pool, but she guessed he could reach the princess with a few quick strokes. The arms revealed by his borrowed suit were impressively well-defined. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a coru man,” she said, “but you look awfully comfortable in the water.”
“Torz,” he said. He didn’t grin; he didn’t look like a generally light-hearted man. He looked serious and practical. At some point in his life, it must have seemed to him practical to learn this particular skill, so he had studied it till he mastered it. That life hadn’t been overlong, Zoe judged. She thought he might be eighteen or nineteen years old.
“Too bad you weren’t in the boat with the princess during the regatta,” she said.
Foley pressed his lips together and didn’t answer, but Josetta spoke up. Her blond hair was plastered back from her face, making her look even younger than her age and more vulnerable than usual. “I wanted him to be,” she said. “He was last year.”
Last year, when the princess didn’t almost drown. “So why not this year?”
“My mother had already hired the sailors, and there was only room for three,” Josetta said. “She thought I had a better chance of winning if both rowers were professionals.”
“I suppose she’s learned there are some things more important than winning,” Zoe said.
“I suppose,” Josetta said. She had been holding on to the lip of the pool, but now she ducked her head under the water, moving her arms and legs in practice strokes before surfacing again. “Let me see if I can make it to the other side by myself.”
“I’ll swim alongside you,” Zoe said.
“Go past me,” Foley said. “I can help you if you’re in trouble.”
Josetta dipped her head in the water again, as if trying to wet her hair enough to keep it out of her way. “All right. Watch me.”
The princess splashed a lot, and her kicks were erratic, but she made it across the water without needing help from her instructors. “Excellent! Very smoothly done!” Sarone called, clapping her hands. “Now back to me.”
But Josetta had to pause a moment to celebrate. “I did it!” she exclaimed, clinging to the stone border on the other side. “I didn’t think I could! It’s always so hard for me to learn new things but—I like this! This is easy!”
Lazily kicking her feet to keep herself afloat, Zoe smiled at the princess. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this. You must always respect the water, of course—always, even in a controlled environment like this one—but if you do, it can be a powerful friend.”
Josetta nodded, listening, but her eyes were already on Sarone, measuring the distance between them. “Come back to me!” Sarone called again. “We’ll have you cross the pool a few more times, until you start getting tired.”
Josetta laughed, a small, happy sound that Zoe didn’t remember hearing before. “Oh, I don’t think I’m going to get tired of this for a long time.”
Of course, the princess found herself immensely weary when she pulled herself out onto one of the artfully placed boulders some time later. “It’s the water,” Sarone explained, bringing over a towel to start drying Josetta’s hair. “It takes yo
ur weight for you. You always feel dreadful when you first get out, but you’ll feel better soon enough. In fact, the more often you swim, the stronger you’ll feel in general.”
“I’m so hungry,” the princess exclaimed, and then looked mortified. “I’m sorry! I’m not asking you to feed me—”
But Sarone was laughing. “Swimming always leaves me ravenous,” she confided. “I would have been astonished if you hadn’t been hungry. Food is on its way.”
“How can I thank you for giving me such an enjoyable afternoon?” Josetta asked.
“By coming back, of course,” Sarone said promptly. It was clear she had gauged the princess correctly; Josetta could not bear to push herself where she was not welcome. “I will be offended if you don’t!” She gestured at the royal retinue. “All of you. Come anytime. I will leave orders that you are to be admitted even if I am not here.” She bent a stern look on Josetta. “But you are not to climb into the pool without me or Zoe or Foley with you. Not until I decide you are skilled enough to swim on your own.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t think of trying it by myself,” Josetta said earnestly.
“Good. Then you may come whenever you like.”
As soon as they had blunted their hunger on Sarone’s excellent selection of breads and cheeses, they redonned their formal clothes. Zoe just let her damp hair hang down her back to dry as it liked, combing it out once with her hand. But Josetta’s blond locks twisted into messy curls as they started to dry, and the maid had quite a time trying to tame them into something more presentable.
“Start wearing your hair in a braid coiled into a knot on the back of your head,” Sarone suggested. “Very practical for a swimmer.”
“Not practical for a girl who’s nearly fifteen and who must present a certain appearance at court,” Zoe said firmly. “So make sure you don’t go swimming on days it matters what you look like.”